Although there was never any reason to doubt that Leopoldo's birthday party would be fun, is was a pleasant surprise to have it become a grand event. After setting up the hot food, I stepped outside the bungalow and looked back to see about 75 people laughing, drinking and eating; at that moment, I was finally able to let go of the stress that had plagued me all day. The owners and managers of Twist were extremely generous and the crowd truly appreciative. I had been arguing for some time that the bungalow bar could be the ideal venue for our crowd, and that it was. Here are a few photos of that memorable evening.
At first it seemed as if I might have overdone it on the food, but it wasn't long before the line formed. I follow the rule that it is better to have too much than too little.

Thomas Barker showed up early with a new buddy, Joshua; the Cinemateque's Kendall is between them.

And the delightful Penelope drove down from Broward to represent that county's transgender
community.

Leopoldo's "sister", Lloyd and his boyfriend, Scott.

Connie Chung popped in.

Celebrity bartender, Susie, kept the thirsty crowd satisfied.

And celebrate they did.

A cute new stripper, Gianni, brought smiles to all.

And, The Baroness Seitzinger was not sporting the usual jewels. She was heard to whisper that it was a good thing Mrs. Styuvesant-Fish had left for a Palm Beach weekend as it would leave that much more for everyone to eat and drink. There was an unsubstantiated rumor that Mamie was actually in rehab; we passed it around anyway.

The ever-fabulous Henrietta brought shrimp salad, her signature meatballs, and a cake. Between the two of them, she and Leopoldo were sporting about twenty carats. I sincerely thank Twist and all our friends for making it a most exciting night. Next stop: Twist's sixteenth anniversary this Wednesday.